


A Life That Might Have Been

by Skyeec2



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Mother-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 09:44:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11620986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyeec2/pseuds/Skyeec2
Summary: For the FFVII Fic Exhange. A few scenes of what might have been if Ifalna and Aerith weren't taken by Shinra.





	A Life That Might Have Been

**Author's Note:**

  * For [frogslay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frogslay/gifts).



> I hope this is alright, frogslay. I might have shifted the timeline a bit from where you originally asked but I hope you still enjoy.

Aerith was only a few months old when their lives were ruined by Shinra.

Ifalna had taken her daughter to the local village doctor that day, Aerith had been fussy the last few days and she had been worried about her daughter’s health. Now, after what had happened, she was thankful that she had made her decision.

The doctor had just finished looking over Aerith when they heard about the strangers in town. His wife rushed into the room, telling her that strange men in suits were at her home.

She had frozen, only able to follow, Aerith clutched to her chest, as she was lead into the panic room located under the clinic’s examination room. It was built to be warm like the other buildings in Icicle Inn so she didn’t have to worry too much about either of the getting too cold.

Aerith was oblivious to what was happening, resting against her chest and unaware of her life being ruined by the men of Shinra. Ifalna remained quiet, hiding away from Shinra’s attention, and stretched her attention away from herself, listening to the soft whispers of the townspeople.

Gast was easy to find; he felt frantic, concern radiating from his aura. He was surrounded by Hojo and Shinra soldiers, backed into a corner and unable to escape.

She remained with him, like that, until Hojo fired his gun.

Tears leaked from her eyes as Gast faded from the world, slipping further and further from her grasp. She felt the phantom brush of his warm hand against her cheek, wiping at her tears, before entering the Life-Stream.

Leaving her and Aerith behind.

She remained hidden under the floor of the clinic until well into the night, terrified of Shinra finding them and taking Aerith from her. The doctor’s wife checked on them frequently, giving her updates about what was happening up there.

Gast had told Hojo that she and their daughter had both died during childbirth, trying to protect them in his final moments. The doctor had only supported what he said, saying that their deaths were tragic but there had been nothing that could have been done to prevent it.

Hojo had left enraged and was gone from Icicle Inn soon after.

But she knew better than to think they were safe just yet, she had no idea if Hojo had set up some kind of surveillance in their home.

She also wasn’t ready to be where it happened; not yet, probably not ever.

The doctors and his wife let her remain in the safe room under the clinic while they slowly, cautiously gathered the things she would need from her home. Icicle Inn had always been a very close-knit community, everyone in town was all too happy to lend a hand where they could.

Within a day she had everything she would need to look after herself and Aerith; clothes, baby supplies, blankets. They remained down there for over a week before the house was cleared as safe, no surveillance instruments to be found.

She was very cautious the first days back in their home, ready to flee at a moment’s notice. But no one came to attack them or steal them away in the middle of the night, it seemed that Hojo believed that they had died.

Some of the people had been kind enough to clean up her house before she returned, ensuring that she wouldn’t be returning home to the walls drenched in blood. She was very thankful for that; she could still feel the last bits of her husband’s presence, she didn’t need the added trauma of knowing exactly where he bled out.

Aerith, only just a baby, was completely unaware of the dramatic change. She would never remember her father, all she would know of him where the few photos they had and his papers and research.

She wouldn’t know anything of substance about her father, aside from what she could tell her.

That wasn’t a way to someone at all.

But that didn’t matter at that moment, what mattered was ensuring that she was able to care for Aerith and raise her to be a good person. She was not going to let Shinra get their hands on her daughter.

They would never touch her.

* * *

 

Shinra never returned to Icicle Inn searching for them but she never stopped fearing for the day she heard the sound of their approach. She continued to prepare on the small chance that they did return for them; she built a safe room beneath their own home, complete with escape tunnel and stocked with supplies they would need for their escape.

Raising a child by herself was difficult but she managed as best she could. The rest of the townspeople helped her as much as they could, for which she would always be thankful.

Aerith was, thankfully, a very polite child; eager to help where she could and very sweet. She was interested in gardening and liked working with her in the garden of their backyard, tending to the vegetables and herb along with her.

Ifalna joined spending that time with her daughter, Aerith was always so earnest in her attempts to help. It was sweet and never failed to bring a small to her face.

She was glad that she was so close to her daughter and could spend this time with her. It makes introducing her to the way of the Cetra easier, lets her slowly teach her daughter what the whispers she hears are and how to communicate with the planet.

Aerith doesn’t understand at first, until she explains it as a kind of imaginary friend that only they can speak to. She grasps that concept quite a bit easier, eager to have a friend that no one else can have. At this young an age, it was easy to pass over any odd behaviour in front of other people.

Ifalna would explain things to Aerith again once she was a bit older and could understand what she was talking about a bit more.

She had time to teach her daughter.

* * *

 

Ifalna started to teach Aerith to fight when her daughter was ten-years-old.

At first, she was just teaching her self-defence; how to use defensive and healing materia, but it soon evolved into teaching her daughter how to properly use a staff, both offensive and defensively.

At first, Aerith was terrible. She could barely hold the staff and had difficulties maintaining her concentration while using materia but Ifalna encouraged her to keep trying, that she’d figure it all out eventually. It would just take a little bit of time and practice.

Aerith was determined to learn though, practicing long after she should have been asleep. More than once Ifalna had returned home to find her daughter practicing with her Wall materia.

Aerith’s hard work was slowly starting to pay off, her skills with materia was growing and she was starting to gain confidence with the staff. She wasn’t close to being able to deal with monsters on her own by any means but she could hold her own.

Aerith was showing exceptional promise with Cures, but then again, so did all Cetra.

Ifalna had explained their connection to the planet once more, hoping that her daughter was old enough to understand what she was saying.

Aerith seemed to understand what she was saying, even if she was a little confused by some of the things she said. They spent the night talking together, Ifalna answering any questions that her daughter had as best as she could.

She should have expected she would ask about her father.

* * *

 

She swallowed heavily, looking at her daughter’s face open in innocent curiosity. “You want to know about your father?” She asked in a shaky voice, wanting to clarify what she had heard.

“I do,” Aerith nodded, voice firm as she spoke.

“Alright sweetie,” Ifalna said, taking a steadying breath. “Come on, I’ve got some things in the bottom of the wardrobe.”

She stands from her seat at the kitchen table, moving into her room with her daughter. She knelt in front of the wardrobe, knees resting on the plush carpet of her bedroom as she pulled the box of her husband’s things from the bottom of the wardrobe.

She held the box for a few moments after pulling it from the wardrobe; simply holding the cardboard in her hands, overcome with emotions she hadn’t let herself deal with in years. Her throat closed up as she held the box, but she forced herself to steel herself, wanting to share this with her daughter.

She turned to Aerith, seeing her daughter’s concerned look focused on her. “Here we go sweetie,” she said in a shaky voice, placing the box down on the carpet between them. “Al-all your father’s things.”

Aerith’s gaze was trained on the box for several minutes, her daughter frozen as she gazed at the medium-sized cardboard box. Ifalna swallowed heavily, waiting patiently for Aerith to reach out and open it.

Aerith sighed softly before visibly steeling herself and reaching out to remove the lid, looking at the contents held within. The first thing her daughter pulled out was Gast’s spare lab coat, the one he hadn’t been wearing when he was shot by Shinra. Aerith unfurled the fabric, spreading out the large, white coat between them.

Ifalna felt her breath hitch in her throat at the sight of her fabric, seeing the look of amazement on her daughter’s face as she looked over the coat. Aerith traced her fingers over the seams of the fabric, pausing over the hand stitched letters of her father’s name.

Aerith delicately placed the fabric of the coat down and reached back into the box, taking out the next item. It was a pressed flower Gast had given Ifalna not long after they started seeing each other, a delicate thing with large petals of a beautiful purple-blue colour. To this day, it was the second most beautiful thing she had ever seen, right after Gast holding the form of their newborn baby girl in his arms.

She was sure there were numerous such photos in her album. Speaking of her album; Ifalna turned away from her daughter and reached into her wardrobe, searching for her album within the wardrobe. She quickly found it along with Gast’s research papers, pulling both out from inside the wardrobe.

When she turned back to her daughter, Aerith had set down the pressed flower and had picked up her father’s glasses. She was holding them up to her face, peering through the lenses. Ifalna couldn’t help the huff of laughter that escaped her at the sight.

Aerith gave her a soft smile, setting down the cracked glasses to look at the items she had pulled from within the wardrobe. “What are those?” She asked curiously, staring at the items.

Ifalna decided to start with the album, gesturing for Aerith to come sit next to her and opening it between them when her daughter was settled. She opened it to the first page, showing a few pictures of herself when she was young.

“These are from when I was around your age,” she told her daughter. She tapped a photo of herself and two adults, “here I am with my parents, your grandparents.”

“My grandparents,” Aerith breathed, reaching out to trace their faces. “What happened to them?” She asked.

Ifalna swallowed, an old familiar grief curling in her chest. “They died not long after I married your father, before you were born.” They had gotten sick suddenly and there had been nothing that could be done to cure them, she regretted that they had never gotten the chance to see their granddaughter.

She didn’t doubt that they would have loved Aerith.

She flicked further through the album until she the first photo with Gast. They had been together a few weeks at that point and the photo had been taken during dinner by one of the townspeople, catching them off-guard with the surprise flash.

“Mum?!” Aerith called, voice clearly distressed. “You’re crying!”

Ifalna raised her hand to her eyes, feeling the wetness there confirm what Aerith had said. “I’m just remembering sweetie,” she reassured, allowing her tears to fall. “This was one of my first dates with your father.”

“Really?” Aerith asked, voice less distressed. She shifted closer, looking down at the photo. “He looks nice.”

Ifalna nodded, eyes trained on the kind smile on Gast’s face. “He was.”

She continues to flick through the album, pointing out different photos of her and Gast. She had to pause for several minutes when she reached their wedding photos, getting her emotions back under control so that she wouldn’t break down in front of her daughter.

She steeled herself as they passed the photos of her pregnant with Aerith, turning the page to her favourite memory. “This was taken just after you were born,” She said, looking at the photo of Aerith being held by her father. “We were both so happy.”

She handed the album to her daughter, watching as Aerith traced the captured memories with her fingers. She watched as Aerith continued to look through the album, tracing the face of a man she had never gotten the chance to know.

She cleared her throat softly, pushing on before she could get overwhelmed by emotion. She held out the folder containing all of her husband’s work to her daughter, waiting patiently for Aerith to put down the album and take the folder from her hands.

“Your father was a scientist,” she explained as Aerith took hold of the folder. “These are some of his research papers.”

Aerith opened the folder, taking out the first collection of papers to look through them. “He must have been really smart,” she said, flicking through the thick stack of papers.

“He was the most brilliant man I’ve ever met,” Ifalna agreed. “He was one of Shinra’s best scientist.”

There was silence for several minutes as Aerith continued to look through her father’s work and Ifalna was lost in memories of her husband. Ifalna hoped that Gast was happy with how she was managing to raise their daughter.

Aerith broke the silence with a question that froze Ifalna to her core and left her unable to answer her daughter. “If he was one of their best, then why did Shinra kill him?”

She swallowed heavily, unable to think of anything to say to her daughter. She didn’t know why Shinra had tried to find them or why Hojo had shot Gast, that was not something neither the Lifestream or any of their Ancestors could tell her.

She shook her head in a helpless gesture, words failing her in the face of Aerith’s question. Her daughter was frustrated by her non-answer but it was all she could give her child, sometimes humans did things that she couldn’t understand.

And though it was something all Cetra learned, she regretted that Aerith had to discover it so young.

* * *

 

Aerith was slowly becoming a lovely young woman; strong, beautiful and able to look after herself.

Ifalna was proud of her daughter. She always would be she supposed, even if Aerith was determined to follow her chosen path.

Her daughter was determined to leave Icicle Inn, wanting to go join the fight against Shinra and no matter what Ifalna did she couldn’t convince her otherwise. With that in mind, she decided to do the best she could for Aerith to help support her choice.

If her daughter wanted to leave the safety of their home in Icicle Inn then she was going to make sure that was she was fully prepared to face the outside world. She gave her daughter some of her most powerful materia and a decent staff, making sure Aerith knew exactly where she was going before she set out on her journey.

They decided that Cosmo Canyon would be the best place for Aerith to start her search, there were rumours of a group of terrorists that had set up there and if Aerith was truly going to go against Shinra then that would be the best for her to go.

Ifalna hoped that she had prepared Aerith enough for her journey and that her daughter wouldn’t be taken from her like her husband had been.

A few more weeks of preparation and Aerith was ready to start her journey, she was going to take a boat to the West Continent and travel by foot until she reached Cosmo Canyon. She would arrive at the village within a month if all went well.

“I’m going to be fine, mum.” Aerith tried to reassure her the night before she was set to leave. “You’ve taught me everything you can; I’m ready to leave.”

“I know you are, sweetie,” Ifalna answered, giving her daughter a soft smile. “You’re going to do amazing things.”

Aerith ducked her head at the praise, “I doubt that, but I’ll try my best.”

“Just remember to be careful around people, Aerith.” Ifalna warned her daughter, repeating the words for perhaps the fifth time that week. “Not everyone will be as kind as the people here.”

“I know,” Aerith responded with a smile. “I’ll look after myself.”

Ifalna reached out to grasp her daughter’s hand in her own, “I’m going to miss you sweetie.” She said honestly, “try to enjoy yourself, alright?”

Aerith nodded, “I’ll do my best.”

They spent the rest of the night together, making sure Aerith was fully prepared for the boat trip tomorrow.

* * *

 

The next time she heard from her daughter it was through a letter a few months after Aerith left.

It was a plain-looking thing in an envelope only baring her name, delivered to her by a traveller passing through Icicle Inn. The young man had been sweet, if a bit flustered by her inviting him in for tea; he had been a good conversationalist and she was able to learn a lot about the state of the rest of the world outside of Icicle Inn.

He left afterwards and she opened the letter from her daughter, sitting back in her chair and reading Aerith’s message.

_Dear Mum,_

_Things have been going well! I made it to Cosmo Canyon without too many issues and I’ve been enjoying it. I’m learning so much from everyone here, there’s so many experts on things Shinra doesn’t want to give attention to._

_I’ve learned so much about alternative energy resources and environmental science since I arrived and the Elder, Bungenhagen, been teaching me so much about the planet. It’s so interesting to learn about what humans think about the planet and the Lifestream, it’s completely different from what you taught me._

_I decided not to join Avalanche, they’ve done things that I can’t agree with. I want to stop Shinra but I won’t become a murdered to do so, I won’t put myself on their level. I don’t know how I’m going to stop Shinra but I’ll figure something out, I’ll have Bungenhagen and the other people in Cosmo Canyon to help me._

_I don’t know if I should tell them about being a Cetra. I think I want to; it’ll let me talk to them about things from our point-of-view and understanding. I think they’d benefit from a Cetra’s planet of the Lifestream and the planet. I’ll keep you updated on my decision about that._

_Shinra’s focused on their war with Wutai right now, so I haven’t had to worry too much about their attention. I’m stilling keeping as low a profile as I can though, I’ve heard some awful rumours about Shinra and I really don’t want to discover if they’re true or not._

_I’ll write to you again soon._

_Your daughter,_

_Aerith_

Ifalna set down the letter after she was finished reading it. She knew that Cosmo Canyon was the best place to send Aerith, their anti-mako and anti-Shinra lifestyle would keep her daughter out of the company’s gaze.

She was glad that Aerith was doing alright, it was good to hear that she had reached Cosmo Canyon without any issue.

She was proud that Aerith was sticking to her morals; she would have ended up hating herself if she didn’t, her daughter was not cut out to be a killer.

She put the letter up on her fridge, returning to her seat and staring at it from across the room.

She was missing her little girl.

* * *

 

The next letter arrived with a very _special_ guest.

The young man was taller than her, grabbed in a weather-worn hooded cloak. Glowing blue eyes stared down at her from the shadow of the man’s cowl.

She blinked up at the man for a few moments before inviting him inside. The planet didn’t like him very much, but he didn’t feel hostile to her so she doubted he would do anything to harm her.

She was right of course; the young man was perfectly lovely, polite and charming if a bit eccentric. But she had been married to a scientist, if there was something she knew how to deal with it was eccentrics.

He introduced himself as Genesis and explained that he had met Aerith in Cosmo Canyon after abandoning Shinra; her daughter had told him that she might be able to help him with a problem he had.

Ifalna had been surprised by that but if there was something she could do to help Genesis then she would try to help him.

“Why didn’t you stay with Shinra?” She asked curiously, moving around her kitchen and preparing for what she would be doing. “Couldn’t they have helped you?”

Genesis was quiet for a moment, shifting awkwardly where she had ordered him to lay on her floor. “They would rather my death,” he told her, anger colouring his voice. “I’m nothing more than a failure.”

“But you’re one of their strongest, wouldn’t they want to keep you?” Her questioning was unsettling him, it was necessary if she wanted to keep Genesis distracted. The process was not going to be an enjoyable one, it would be best if she got him talking now rather than start after she began healing him.

“They can replace me with ease,” Genesis admitted coldly. “My skills can be replicated in a quieter, more subservient tool.”

“Really?” She asked, moving from the kitchen when she had everything she needed. “Weren’t you the one telling me how your Materia skills were unparalleled?”

Genesis sighed softly, tracing her movements from the floor; me most likely knew exactly what she was doing. “My skills _are_ unparalleled.” He informed her, “Shinra would have ignored them if I didn’t drag myself into their notice.”

She hummed softly, sitting herself on the floor next to him. She continued to speak as she lit the group of fragrant herbs she had collected, “what about your friends? Are you going to explain things to them?”

Genesis was quiet, laying on the floor and watching the fragrant smoke rise into the air around them. “They don’t need me,” he muttered softly, closing his eyes to the curl of smoke. “They’d be better off without me.”

“You should let them decide that,” she informed him, setting the burning herbs down in a ceramic bowl. She turned back to him, settling her hands to rest above the centre of his chest. “They may just surprise you.”

She started then, drawing a muffled pained noise from the other as she searched out the source of his illness.

Genesis forced himself to speak, working through the pain of the sensation to continue their conversation. “What if they decide to hunt me instead of help me?” The words were strained, forced through clenched teeth.

“You won’t know until they do,” she muttered distractedly, having discovered the mass of creeping blackness centred in the young man’s being. It spread through the entirety of the other’s essence, slowly poisoning the young man.

This was going to be more painful than she had anticipated, hopefully Genesis had inhaled enough of the smoke to be ready for this.

She decided not to warn the SOLDIER about what was about to happen and focused her attention on the mass; channelling the power of the planet in order to destroy the black mass within Genesis.

A cut-off scream filled her home as Genesis’ back arched, body wracked with tremors as she continued to work.

She worked for almost two hours before the black mass was completely purged from the SOLDIER, the process left them both exhausted. Her hands burned from where she had been channelling the planet into the young man, sparks shooting through the nerves of her fingers.

Genesis had passed out not long into the process and would most likely remain so until the next morning.

She ran her hand through sweat-soaked hair for a moment, observing the young man’s relaxed features. It was hard for her to believe that this man was only a few years older than her daughter.

She slowly stood from her position on the floor, moving to grab a blanket for the young man. She covered him with the soft material and placed a pillow under his head, leaving him to rest and recover.

She sighed to herself softly, sitting at her kitchen table. She still hadn’t opened the letter Genesis had delivered to her.

She opened the plain envelope, pulling out the letter within.

_Dear Mum,_

_Things have been going well since the last letter I sent you; things have been very quiet. I’ve spoken with Bungenhagen quite a bit since the last time I wrote you and I eventually decided to tell him that we were Cetra._

_I’m relieved that he hasn’t started to treat me any different than how he used to, the only thing that’s really changed is what we talk about. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the planet and the Lifestream, I think he’s just happy to have someone with a sound knowledge of what the Lifestream actually is to talk to._

_Perhaps if you can, you can come down here and talk to him? You’d be able to tell him more than I would._

_I made the right choice in not joining Avalanche; a few days ago, we got news that they had bombed a facility with people still inside. There were more than a few casualties._

_I hope you don’t mind me sending Genesis to you for help. He collapsed in the middle of town a few days ago; he said he had crossed the ocean from Wutai after deserting Shinra but he wouldn’t say much more than that._

_I felt something wrong in him but I didn’t know what to do about that so I decided to send him up to you. Hopefully you can do something to help him out._

_He’s a little weird but I think we should help him._

_I’ll write to you again soon._

_Your daughter,_

_Aerith._

Ifalna finished the letter with a soft sigh, setting in down on the table before picking herself up. She’s exhausted from working on Genesis and in dire need of sleep.

Genesis is gone when she wakens the next morning, blanket folded and stacked with the pillow on the couch. There’s a small note of farewell on top of the fabric but she decides to pass it by for the moment, moving into the kitchen to set up the kettle.

Aerith’s letter was still resting on the kitchen table so she places in beside it’s predecessor on the fridge.

* * *

 

Things seemed to change very suddenly in the months after she had helped Genesis.

One day things were fine, the next Shinra’s SOLDIERs were revolting and abandoning the company in droves. She heard that the three strongest SOLDIERs all left together and their comrades could only follow their lead.

She heard that they had made their way to the West Continent and had set up a base of operations somewhere around Cosmo Canyon, rumour had it that they were working with the villagers there.

She heard that they were planning to help them remove Mako energy from the West Continent and eventually the rest of the world. If things went well there then they would attempt to do so for the rest of the world.

The war with Wutai fizzled out; without any SOLDIERs to fight for them, Shinra was forced to retreat and focus on repairing the damage caused by the SOLDIERs abandonment. Ifalna had been more than pleased when she heard that the Science Department had been destroyed and many scientists had met their end, Hojo amongst them.

She decided that now was an opportune time to visit her daughter. It had been over a year since Aerith had left Icicle Inn and she wanted to see how she was doing with these new developments.

* * *

 

She arranged for someone to care for her home while she was gone before setting off for Cosmo Canyon. The journey was an enjoyable one, she reached the desert dwelling without issue and was pleasantly surprised by the reception she got.

The villagers seemed to recognize her appearance and immediately directed her to one of the central houses. She thanked them and knocked on the door, entering when she heard a voice call out from inside.

She paused for a moment in the doorway, just looking at her daughter from across the room. Aerith looked good, bright and alive as she went over some plans with the others gathered around the table in front of her.

One of the other men noticed her first, fixing her with a kind smile as he addressed her. “Is there something we can help you with ma’am?”

“No,” she answered calmly. “I just wanted to see how Aerith was doing.”

Aerith’s head shot up at her words, turning to stare at her in shock. “Mum!” Aerith exclaimed, a bright smile settling on her face as she moved to stand in front of her. “You came all this way to see me?”

“Of course I did,” she answered, a fond look on her face as she spoke to her daughter. “I’ve missed you.”

Aerith’s smile grew in size at her answer, she turned then gesturing to the people gathered around the table. “Everyone, this is my mum, Ifalna. Mum these are Angeal Hewley, Reeve Tuesti, Elder Bungenhagen and his grandson Nanaki.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” she offered with a smile. “I’m sorry for disturbing you all.”

The oldest man, Bungenhagen she assumed, moved quickly to stand before her. “No need for apologies,” he said in a cheerful tone. “I’ve been looking forward to speaking with you.”

“I’ve been looking forward to speak with you as well,” she answered. “I’ll leave you to finish your meeting,” she told Aerith, stepping back towards the door. “We can speak once you’re done.”

“Alright,” Aerith responded, watching her leave. “I’ll find you when we’re done.”

Ifalna nodded, leaving the house.

She decided to explore the village while she waited, taking the chance to talk to some of the people living in Cosmo Canyon.

It was a surprise to come across Genesis as she did.

They spent a few minutes catching up, she was glad to hear that he had returned to talk to his friends and they had started the revolting against Shinra. He informed her that things were going well for him and he felt better than he had in months.

She was glad to hear that the young man was doing well. She had been worried about him since he left her home after she dispelled the black mass from him, she was glad it hadn’t seemed to return.

Their conversation was interrupted by the man that Aerith had introduced as Angeal Hewley. “You two know each other?” He asked, coming to stand next to Genesis.

“This is the women who healed me,” Genesis responded, swiping stray strands of hair from his face. “Ifalna, this is my dear friend Angeal.”

“We’ve been introduced,” Angeal informed him, but held his hand out to her anyway. “Thank you for helping Genesis, I hear he needed it.”

“It was no trouble,” she told the larger SOLDIER, amusement colouring her tone at the upfronted expression on Genesis’ face. “I was glad to help.”

“Mum!” She heard from behind her, she turned to see Aerith approaching her. “I want you to see something!”

“We will have to speak again later,” she said, turning back to the two men. “It has been nice talking to you again Genesis.”

“You as well, Ifalna.” Genesis responded, words accompanied by a sweeping bow.

She turned from them, approaching her daughter with a warm feeling in her chest. The planet was signing under her feet, the Lifestream practically dancing around her.

Her daughter beamed at her, radiating content and happiness in front of her.

Ifalna felt that she had done the best she could for her daughter, raising her as best as she could without Gast’s presence. Seeing Aerith before her, helping to guide these humans to a better future, she felt so much pride for her little girl.

She was so glad that Shinra hadn’t managed to find them that day. She couldn’t even imagine what their lives would have been like if Shinra had found them.


End file.
